Cookie Science! Creating the Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe – Post 1
This will likely be a series of blog posts – but here is a start!
First Ingredient… BUTTER – and more specifically…UNSALTED butter. Unsalted butter is used so that you can control the amount of butter in the recipe. Every brand of butter is different and no two sticks are for surely the same amount…so in order to maintain control… Unsalted it is! I buy my butter at Costco and store extras in the freezer!
Now – melted or softened to room temp???
The above cookie is made with semi melted butter…meaning that some of the stick was melted, but the rest of the stick remained shaped, but soft. There are also recipes that call for just “room temperature” butter – Meaning leave the butter out long enough so that when you press on it, your finger leaves an imprint. I have NOT had the best results with using butter this way as I felt that cookies were too “tough” for my taste.
Browned butter is another technique I use fairly often when baking. To brown butter you add the butter to a saute pan that is set on the stove top to medium/low. Let the butter melt while stirring it and it will eventually start to bubble and foam. Keep a close eye on the butter so that it doesn’t start to burn..but starts to turn a golden color with flecks and you will notice a toffee like smell (mmm…) Remember to stir continuously! Once it reaches that beautiful golden color remove the pan from the burner and pour the butter into a glass bowl to let cool for about 15 minutes before adding to your cookie recipe. You don’t want it to be piping hot or boiling when you add it!
Butter Winner = Browned butter melted or just melted unsalted butter
Sugar winner: 1 cup packed brown sugar and 1/2 cup white granulated sugar
Egg winner = 1 whole large egg + 1 large egg yolk
What are your thoughts on these elements that go into cookies?
Any opinions on butter, sugar and eggs?